Thiruvananthapuram: The national leadership of the Congress party on Monday intervened to solve the internal feud in its Kerala unit. With the entire top brass in Kerala joining hands to take on Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, the party leadership on Monday directed all leaders, including Tharoor, to maintain decorum.
Sensing that if it does not intervene now, it might be too late, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) asked the leaders to ensure that there is no more "free for all" in the public domain.
The AICC leadership has asked Tariq Anwar, general secretary in charge of Kerala, to see that “all guns stop firing in the open”.
For reasons 'political, Tharoor has now emerged as the persona-non grata for all top party bosses in the state heading their own factions, including Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, and veteran leaders Ramesh Chennithala and A K Antony.
Apparently, the only leader who has not joined the others is two-time former chief minister Oommen Chandy.
The primary reason for this unity at the party's top level is Tharoor's decision to contest against Mallikarjun Kharge for the AICC president post, as the latter was the nominee of the party high command.
Tharoor's decision to oppose him sent shockwaves in the party and since then, the Lok Sabha MP has been on the wrong side of his fellow Kerala leaders.
What made them restless is Tharoor's expanding support base which now includes important social and religious groups and their heads.
Besides Tharoor being social media-savvy has made him one of the most popular politicians in the state.
Sensing Tharoor has nothing to lose, and the state unit a lot, the AICC decided to intervene.
(With IANS inputs)
